#Then finally I get Tuesday and Wednesday off to catch up on stuff!

[cxpperhead]

Copperhead is fluent in Spanish. Growing up in Arizona, a considerable percentage of the population speak the language and for a while it was all he spoke until he left the state, choosing to go primarily with English.

[ladykailitha]

Paper Hearts Part 8

Here we go! The end! This is not the last foray into this little 'verse however! There will be a sequel called Sweet Surrender. It will chronicle their first date, their first time (so it will be mature), and senior prom. Look for that starting next week.

Still not sure about WIP Wednesday tomorrow, but I'll keep you posted.

Steve gets to see one of the recipients of his pinks hearts, Eddie spirals a bit, and true love prevails. As it should.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

****

Steve was finally able to witness one of his anonymous hearts being received on Tuesday. Last week all the hearts had been shoved into people’s lockers, accidentally following the lead of Steve’s admirers. He strongly suspected Chrissy was the reason for that.

But in the three days leading up to Valentine’s day, the hearts were being passed out in classes. Something teachers strongly objected to but students loved.

He was in his geometry class, trying not scratch out his own eyeballs from the sheer monotony of all the numbers starting to blur together, when Chrissy and another junior cheerleader came into the class, but as it was merely quiet student time and that he wasn’t actively teaching, there was nothing the teacher could do but silently stew.

They started listing off the names of the students who had gotten pink hearts alphabetically. Steve wasn’t surprised when he got a small stack again. Most of them were from Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Sam. The first name was weird, but others seemed fairly normal. And of course, one from Kas.

He looked around and saw that some kids were snickering because they were getting to the later half of the alphabet and Joni Quincy. She was little fatter then her classmates but in no way overweight. But that didn’t stop people from mocking her. The fact that she braces didn’t help either.

“Joni Quincy!” Chrissy said, clearly.

The class got so quiet you could hear her sharp gasp.

“Are you sure it’s for me?” she asked shyly, like she was expecting to be pranked or tricked.

Chrissy shook her bright ponytail. She came over to the girl’s desk and handed her the heart. It was only the one, but Steve could tell it made all the difference. She smiled brightly and laughed.

“That’s sweet!” Nicole said over her shoulder. “Anonymous. But it’s still cool someone thought of you.”

The rest of the class went well until afterwards when one of the members of the football team grabbed out of her hand.

“You shouldn’t send notes yourself,” he sneered, holding it above her head so she couldn’t get back.

“I didn’t!” she cried.

Steve stood up and swiped it out of the dude’s hand. “Leave her alone. The point of the friendship hearts are for stuff like this. Knock it off.” He turned and glared at the teacher.

The teacher stared back at Steve for a moment and then sighed.

“Mr. Olsen, please refrain harassing your fellow students.”

The kid just shrugged and stormed out of the class. Steve handed it back to her.

“It is a sweet message,” he said with a smile.

-Joni

Braces may suck right now,

But the smile you’ll get in end

Will be worth it, so don’t hide your smile

A Former Braces Wearer

She returned his smile widely, showing off the braces. “It is. It was nice to get a heart.”

Steve just nodded and then gathered up his stuff to go. He could feel the warm glow in his chest expand as he watched her talk with one of the other girls in the class about the heart.

It felt good.

****

All week long, Eddie watched Steve get the pink hearts and brighten every time. They had a couple of classes together and he always lit up when the hearts arrived.

Sometimes, he would catch him looking disappointed, but by the end of the day that kilowatt smile would be back on.

He couldn’t figure out the cause. There never seemed to be a rhyme or reason for the change in mood.

So he asked one of the Hellfire Club members that had classes with Steve to see if she noticed a difference.

“Maybe it’s your special hearts,” she said with a grin.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not. Come on, at least take this seriously. Oh! Maybe he’s getting them from Nancy!”

“Why would he even want pink hearts from her?”Janice said cocking her head the side in confusion. “Like he was madly in love with the girl and it’s pretty damn clear that whatever went on that week in November, it really crushed the guy. I’d think he’d be disappointed getting one from her rather than not getting one from her until it appears later in the day.”

He frowned. But that had to be it. There was no way that Steve was interested in his hearts. Maybe he just liked the color change and that’s what it was. Because there was no way he was interested in the heart giver unless he thought that it was a girl’s name. Kas could be short for Kassie after all.

Janice grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “You are spiraling and it’s a little freaky, stop.”

Eddie head snapped, he had forgotten she was even there. He turned on his most charming smile. “You’re talking to the head freak, baby. Can’t get freakier than me.”

She rolled her eyes, not charmed in the slightest. “I know what you are, Edward Munson. Don’t you forget it.”

He kissed her cheek. “Never.”

As he walked off, a locker slammed and Janice jumped. She turned around to see Steve Harrington standing up from his locker.

He hadn’t been there when Eddie came up to her, she knew for a fact. Eddie wasn’t stupid enough to talk about someone when they were literally feet away. So he must have come later. Which meant the question was ‘how much did he hear?’

She really hoped the answer was none of it.

****

Steve had to go out and get a different book for all the all the hearts he had received. He still kept the ones from ‘Kas’ in his wallet. Those were his favorite.

He never was good at hiding his emotions, despite what his father had tried to drill into him over and over again. So when he would get pink hearts every period, he would be disappointed when the Kas hearts weren’t there.

Which was rude. He enjoyed all the hearts he got. He loved every little silly message, even from the ones Dustin said were clearly from a metal band.

He had fun taking the hearts with names he knew weren’t in the year book to Dustin, because he would explain the reference to him.

By Wednesday night, Steve had added three more Kas hearts to his wallet. All sweeter than the last.

He knew he was developing a crush on whoever this was.

Then Dustin finally figured it out the day before Valentine’s day.

“It’s probably a dude,” Dustin said with a grimace.

Steve tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Dustin got out a large hard back book and flipped through it. He stopped on a page about half way through and handed it to him.

Steve sat on the kid’s bed with a thump. He must have read a dozen times before he looked up at him.

“But they’re friendship hearts,” he said. “Why would it matter if it’s a guy or not?”

Dustin sat on the bed next time him and gently took the book back. “Because you’re acting like you do when you have a crush.”

Steve blinked at him a moment. He frowned in thought. “You think so?”

He nodded.

“Oh.”

He thought about all the times he wished it was Eddie who was Kas and then it hit him. He wanted it to be Eddie, not because he had a crush on Kas, but because he had a crush on Eddie.

“And if I said I didn’t mind it?” he asked softly. “That it might be a boy?”

“Are you gay?” Dustin asked, rearing his head back in confusion.

Steve shook his head. “Both. I like both.”

Dustin frowned appreciatively. “Okay then.”

“Okay?” Steve wasn’t sure he was hearing this. He had always imagined that there would be more screaming involved.

“Okay,” he repeated. “You have a big heart, it makes sense that you’d like both.”

Steve gave him the biggest hug. “Thanks, Dusty.”

“Oh!” he said, pulling away after a moment. “I found out about that Dorks and Dweebs club you were talking about!”

Dustin glared at him. “It stands for Dungeons and Dragons. Something I’ve told you over and over again.”

Steve ruffled Dustin’s hair. “The club is called The Hellfire Club and they do accept freshmen.”

“They named themselves after that club in The X-men?” Dustin squealed. “That’s so cool.”

Steve blinked for a moment. Yeah, that made more sense then a bunch of high schoolers naming their club after a Satanic and gay club from the 1800s. Hey, he read. He had found a book on history of clubs in England at the local library, and thought they meant soccer. They had not.

Dustin bombarded him with questions about the club and Steve answered him the best he could. After all the kid figured out his Kas so it was the least he could for him.

****

Valentine’s came and Steve was the recipient of three red hearts. But as he searched through the pink hearts there was no Kas. The end of school came and he still hadn’t looked at the red hearts yet.

Eddie came up to his locker as he was shoving his books into it. “Hey, Stevie, why the long face?”

Steve sighed and closed the locker, turning around to sit on the floor. “I’ve been getting these pink hearts from a specific person all week and all last week and I didn’t get one today. So I guess I’m a little bummed by it.”

Eddie dropped his bag and sat down next to Steve. He drew his knees up and draped his arms over them, linking his thumbs together.

“Maybe they sent a red heart instead?” he said, bumping their shoulders together.

Steve shrugged. “They’ve been all pink hearts up until now, so...”

“What makes this one so special then?”

“I have a friend that is really big into D&D,” Steve murmured.

Eddie gasped and held his hands to his chest. “You, Steven Harrington, has friend who like’s D&D?”

“He’s more like a little brother to me,” he explained with a shrug, “he’ll start high school next year. But anyways, he’s been telling me all the references from pink hearts from the ones that wanted to be anonymous.”

“And there’s a D&D reference in there?” Eddie asked, looking over at him. He knew there was, but maybe Steve had been getting hearts from someone else in Hellfire or another secret D&D nerd he knew nothing about.

Steve nodded and pulled out his wallet. “It’s the same person that left the hearts on my door over the weekend.” He pulled out all ten hearts to Eddie’s awe.

“You kept all of them?” he whispered as he gently took them from him. Eddie fanned them out like a deck of cards and then tilted his head. “They’re out of order.”

Steve frowned as he watched Eddie successfully put them in order and a pattern emerged. The colors had shifted darker and darker with each day. Until the one he got yesterday was a really dark pink.

He looked down at the red hearts that he had set on the floor to pull out his wallet. He picked them up only to be snatched from by Eddie.

“Nicole Hawkins?” he said dismissively and tossed it over his shoulder. “She’s too boring.”

Steve huffed out a laugh.

“Lindsey Addams?” he said with a snort, tossing it after Nicole’s red heart. “Has a boyfriend and is only looking for someone she can use to make him jealous.”

Steve smiled. That one he knew. He was down on all the gossip, he just didn’t know Eddie was too.

He handed the final red heart to Steve and smiled. “There you go.”

Steve took the heart and his smile matched Eddie’s when it showed it was from Kas.

“You know,” he said softly. “I wanted them to be from you. He told me about Kas the Betrayer and how whoever was sending them was probably a guy. But I wanted them to be from you since I told you my secret.”

Eddie gulped. He hadn’t been expecting that. He had been shoring himself up that Steve would think it was a girl and he would walk away with a broken heart when he found out it wasn’t. But staring at this gentle boy with a big heart who just wanted to do something nice for the girls that wouldn’t get even so much as a single pink heart, he knew. He knew that there would be no walking away for either of them.

“They’re from me,” he admitted. “I fell so hard for you, Stevie. And I hoped that by gradually changing the colors of the hearts you see that I was gearing up to tell you I loved you.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head. “Sorry I missed that.”

Eddie bumped their shoulders together again. “It’s all right, I got to see the cutest pout when you thought I hadn’t given you a heart today.”

“You’ll let me make it up to you?” Steve asked, raising his head.

“Take me out on a date and shower me with that patented Harrington charm,” Eddie said with a grin. “And we’ll call it even.”

Steve laughed. “Looks like I have plans for Valentine’s day after all.”

Eddie stood up and held his hand out to him. Steve took it and Eddie helped him to his feet.

“Sure do, big boy,” he said with a grin.

Steve laughed and let Eddie lead him out to the parking lot. It was nearly empty but that was perfect.

Eddie walked Steve to his car.

“I’ll pick you up at five, okay?” Steve whispered.

Eddie pursed his lips and nodded. He walked away, but as Steve got his in car, Eddie suddenly leapt into the air and whooped!

Steve shook his head and smiled fondly. He had started the month feeling sorry for himself and now he had a date with a sweet boy on Valentine’s day.

Life was already looking up.

****

Tag List:

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @spectrum-spectre

2- @slv-333 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson

3- @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv

4- @wonderland-girl143-blog @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @fullpoetrybread

7- @disrespectedgoatman @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @moonshadows-13

8- @skyewaytohell @swimmingbirdrunningrock @croatoan-like-its-hot @lolawonsstuff @lololol-1234

9- @dotdot-wierdlife @ravenfrog @dauntlessdiva @thelittleclare @steddieyourself

10- @dam28lh

[shizucheese]

We've made it to the final round of Omega's fucked up tournament.

So will Omega figure out the secret of what makes us tick and harness that power? Or will we be adding yet another giant robot to the trash heap?

And what's going to happen to precious-baby-who-can-do-no-wrong Alpha?

Also on the schedule for tonight is the rank up quests for the Ananta! And maybe, maybe, if there's time, we'll do Fractal Continum Hard, because oops I completely forgot to do it when we were doing 4.2 content. And then if there's time after that, we'll do Saint Mocianne's Arboretum Hard.

If we don't have time though, we'll definitely be doing both of those dungeons on Sunday, when we will also be doing Swallow's Compass (which I forgot to do when we were doing 4.3 content....I'm a very professional streamer who's totally on top of things guys!), Suzaku, 4.4 Hildibrand, and the Stormblood quests for ALC, CUL, MIN, BTN and FSH!

All combat content will be MINE, as always!

In other channel news: I now have things set up so that if you donate 100 bits, a cat squshmallow will be thrown at my vtuber model! If you donate 1,000 bits, the plush will get bigger, and at 2,000 bits, it'll get even bigger! (This is all assuming I didn't mess something up, which I won't know unless someone donates lol!) All proceeds from bits donations will be going towards paying for stuff for the channel, such as official concept art for my vtuber model, which will then be used as references for custom emotes, sub badges, alerts, etc, as well as, you know....my actual official vtuber model.

I've also finally brushed the dust off of my old Instagram account, so be sure to give me a follow over there as well! https://www.instagram.com/shizucheese/ Also be sure to join the community on Discord for off-stream nonsense! (And when I do polls about the channel, if you're in the Discord, *and* following me here on Tumblr, you'll get to double dip, since I'll be running the polls in both places :p) https://discord.gg/N8BKSDN

You can catch me on Twitch every Sunday starting at 4:30 Central and every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 7:30 Central! We're 2 subs away from my first sub goal, so if you want to hear me recite a Gaius or Zenos mololog in UWU speak, be sure to come on over and hit that subscribe button!

[iantimony]

it's tuesday!

last weekend someone taught me how to catch crayfish when wading and this weekend i successfully grabbed one!! proof at the end of the post.

listening: guess (charli xcx, billie eilish): old roommate put this on for me and helloooooo. it's so. yeah. (link is the official music video, warning for flashing) it led me to this playlist cunty trashy slutty skanky which, first of all, excellent playlist name; second of all, what a fucking combination of songs?? something about the juxtaposition of nirvana -> kesha -> korn, etc is. insane in a good way.

last week was bandcamp friday! i last-minute got a few things: finally got sammy rae's "good life" and "let's throw a party", and preordered their newest album "something for everybody". i still need to buy my ticket for their concert near to me this fall. then i got sad snack's full discography for like $5 (the no children ska cover lol), the altogether's "when we were kids" which has been a go-to comfort album for me for a bit, shakey graves "deadstock" anthology, and finally the dear hunter "antimai".

i've been back on the podcast grind, just casually keeping up with stuff like mbmbam sawbones lpotl etc as they come out. most recent mbmbam (episode....730?? jesus christ) has some REALLY funny bits, notably towards the beginning where the cincinnati tornado sirens were being tested and griffin made a comment about the air raid sirens going off again and travis was like ?? dude i'm not in the fucking blitz??? it was very good. there was something else towards the end of the episode that also made me laugh out loud -- oh yes i just went and relistened to the last minute and it's the wish at the end, "i wish my cat would know what it means when i flip him off". so fucking true griffin. i was considering going to one of their tour dates but unfortunately they will be in the nearest city to me when i'm out of town for my second wedding of the fall. ah well

reading: most fallow. lots of little articles for my research.

watching: shane dawson and the art of the constant rebrand - jimmy robins: little retrospective about a guy who i never really liked and haven't thought about in years. i guess he's still around ??? okay. not gonna embed it so you don't get jumpscared by his face.

playing: this is a partial share with watching but last weekend my old roommate and i hung out with one of our friends with the intention of having dinner and crafting. however. we were so tired from kayaking earlier that day that we just ended up watching friend play stray and not crafting at all. it's really cute! i did get Very emotional at the beginning when the cat fell! i was like no!!!

my friend mostly played it but i did do a little bit, it was lots of fun. there was a very funny bit where friend, getting really in the mindset of Being Cat, pulled out a battery pack from a fan and was like "hehe i'm gonna drop it off the roof!" and did it before we could stop her, we were like wait we might need that to solve a puzzle -- but the answer was no it was fine, which is good, because it ended up dropped on a completely inaccessible rooftop ledge below, oopsie.

making: !!! ALL REDACTED !!! i will be able to post some of it next week. i do not know if beloved mutual celestialtourguide reads these regularly but just to be safe. allegedly the glaze kiln WILL be done by wednesday so i will finally know how fucked my guys are. if they're very fucked it'll be like. well, okay, i guess my gift is just money now,

other redacted item is embroidery related!

eating: mostly leftovers from last week, i think im gonna make crisped chickpeas with herbs and garlic yogurt from deb smittenkitchen to use up a zucchini that i have languishing in the fridge. it'll be a nice light lunch.

misc: THE PRELIMINARY EXAM DOCUMENT EXISTS. rejoice. however this comes with the caveat that i don't have a date set yet because i am in the trenches of trying to solve a Very specific problem with my software. the solution is a complete unknown to me as of now. it is in the stage of "putting key words in quotation marks in google scholar and going down the list emailing all the authors like heyyyy help please", which is scary. at least one other person has done something semi-similar - in fact they have my advisor in their acknowledgements thanking them for her editing help lol - so i'm hoping i'm nearly there. because once that is resolved i can FINALLY set a date, which, assuming i pass, also sets the earliest point at which i can give my thesis defense! scary!!

anyway. crayfish proof. it looks like im squishing him way worse than i actually was, he got released and swam away safely do not worry

[yourpenpaldee]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ TEMPORARY SCHEDULE

Hi! I haven't been crazy active on here now that I'm working on getting When Art Talks going. I figured I would make myself a schedule for the time being since time management is my arch nemesis. Let’s hope my INFP self can actually stick to the schedule I created.

SCHEDULE UNDER THE CUT!

SUNDAY

NO POSTS — sundays are my rest days, so the most i'll do is lurk and reblog stuff.

MONDAY

WEEKLY GOALS — this is probably more for me so i can hold myself accountable by the end of the week. but i think it’d be fun to share what i’m expecting to get done for the following week.

TUESDAY

NO POSTS — i have more time on tuesdays to write, so i'll be focusing on that. will probably lurk and reblog by the end of the night.

WEDNESDAY

TAGS — i'm still drowning in tags, so i'm dedicating wednesdays to completing them and catching up with the ones i've missed :) with that being said, please keep tagging me because i love seeing people talk about their OCs and WIPs.

THURSDAY

NO POSTS — writing and watching The Walking Dead for research purposes... and because i'm heavily addicted to it right now. please send IMMEDIATE help (i swear if anything happens to michonne—).

FRIDAY

NADIA AND ELENA'S CHARACTER INTROS (only the first friday) — these should've been up forever ago, but i got too excited about finally getting the momentum going. i need to finalize their playlists and moodboards before they go up :)

UHH — i have no clue what i plan on doing after posting the last of the character intros because i never know what my fridays are going to look like. i guess it'll all depend on what i'm feeling like that day.

SATURDAY

SIDE CHARACTER INTROS (only the first saturday) — this will be the last of the character intros! i'm still debating if i should post backstories for my main characters since it'll be revealed in the story pieces at a time. if so, then i'll post one character each day for the following week.

END-OF-WEEK REPORTS — a weekly progress report on my writing progress. word counts, chapters completed, if i achieved my goals for the week. all of that stuff :)

The schedule will probably stay this way until the end of summer. It's a busier summer than normal for me, but I really want to make sure I make progress with this story. It's been an on and off project for what feels like forever. I've gotten to a place where I'm content and ready to set this story in motion. Here’s to a productive summer! ♡

[bamdelune]

I heard requests were open!

May I request Scaramouche/Wanderer with male reader, just some fluff please! Thank you and have a good day \o/

hellaoo ! ofc, ofc !! everyone likes a good fluff fic from time to time so here it is ^_^ I've been thinking of a bus au for quite a while now so this gives me an opening <3 tysm for the request and of course, feel free to ask for more hehe

Scaramouche x (Male) Reader — Modern!au

notes: fluff, high school!au, first time writing with a male reader so bear with me if this ends up a bit stiff but it would be generally similar to how I write gn!reader, slowburn (?) but the burn isn't burning the way i want it to — sort of plotless as well (?) scaramouche crochets here

Monday, 7:00 PM

"Excuse me! Wait!" You call for the moving bus as it was just about to start moving. It halts after the driver hears you and the double doors hiss open. Your feet hop onto the steps, swiping your bus card against the scanner before moving through the aisles of seats before taking a seat on one of the spots near the second set of doors in the middle.

Exhaustion creeps up on you as your back hits the seat's rest, your back muscles start to relax when you release an exhale of relief. You throw your head back and the bus starts moving after the last passenger boards at the last minute. Truthfully, you were sort of glad that you weren't the last to get on.

As you re-focus on the movement of the bus, you manage to lay your eyes on the last person who boarded the bus. The boy looked strikingly familiar but you were far too worn out to think about it further. Before you knew it, it was finally your stop and you reluctantly forced yourself to get up and exit the bus. You would have opted to slump in your seat and let the vehicle take you anywhere but it would've been hell to walk from the last stop back to your area—which was 3 stops away.

Once you hear the lock of your front door click open, you take of your work shoes and make your way your bed. You couldn't be bothered to change into pajamas and allowed your exhaustion carry you off to dreamland.

Tuesday, 7:05 PM

The second time you ride the bus this week, you see the familiar guy again in the exact seat again. This time, you're not tired out of your mind to recognize him. On the seat across you sat the vice president of the your high school's student council, Scaramouche. His purple strands of hair fall stray on his porcelain face as he turned his head down to look at his phone, he had headphones that hung above his head.

Now that you think about it, maybe his popularity within your batch was reasonable. He was unfairly pretty for someone who was apparently too snarky for his own good. That sounded mean—you haven't exactly interacted with him enough to agree with those rumors.

You catch yourself staring too long when he suddenly feels eyes on him and raises his head up slightly to look in your direction. You immediately busy yourself with your own phone and desperately ignore the heat that made its way up to your face and the pink that the tip of your ears.

When you finally get off on your stuff, Scaramouche pays no mind to your leave and simply focuses on the pages of his novel.

Wednesday, 6:55 PM

You reach the bus stop absolutely soaking from head to toe. The necktie that came with your uniform hung slightly loose under your collar and your hair was drenched. Little could be done to avoid the pouring rain, only using the shelter of your backpack as a pathetic attempt to shield yourself from the harsh raindrops.

The bus hasn't arrived yet, and unlike the other stops, the one nearest to your school does not have any type of roofing that could cover yourself so you had to bear with standing as the cold water pricked at your skin.

You thought the rain had stopped for a moment when you feel the rain over your head stop but as you look up, a white umbrella hung over your head as an arm brought it up. You turn around slightly to reveal Scaramouche holding it the base.

"Oh— uh." You stammer in surprise, eyes going wide

Scaramouche shuffles closer to your side to find shelter under his umbrella. "You know, I think it's pretty stupid not to bring an umbrella when the forecast said so," he huffs as he observed the flow of the rain as it poured down onto the road.

"Didn't get to read it— or rather I.. don't read it." You scratch your nape, an awkward chuckle escapes you afterwards. The purple-haired boy only hums before the bus pulls up at 7pm. You both get on and sit on your usual seat. You would be lying if you said you were slightly disappointed with this arrangement but you quickly forget about it when the pitter-pattering of the rain on the window lulls you to sleep on the bus.

✦

You wake up when you feel a gentle hand shaking you awake. Eyes fluttering open, you turn to see that Scaramouche was the one responsible for your return to a lucid state.

"It's your stop soon." He curtly states, he was standing up beside your seat's row with one side of his headphones behind his ear.

You look around the bus and out the window to see the familiar buildings of your area, feeling that the bus was slowing down as you pull up to the stop.

Your lips form a small 'o' before muttering a soft thanks to him before standing up with your bag slung over your shoulder. You wipe the small trail of drool that dripped from the side of your mouth, praying to the archons Scaramouche didn't notice it.

The bus comes to a halt and you slightly jerk forward from the intertia, the familiar doors hiss open and you walk over to leave. You don't know what possesses you to do so, but you raise a hand up to wave at Scaramouche just as you leave. He raises an eyebrow in surprise but luckily, he reciprocates the action.

By this time, the rain had stopped and you watch as the bus left to the next stop.

Thursday, 7:01 PM

To your surprise, Scaramouche was seated before you today.

You ponder at the entrance of the bus for a while. He's had you acting out of your usual routine and demeanor now so why not take it a step further? You plop yourself down on the seat beside him, placing your bag down on your lap. You sneeze in the other direction to avoid spraying on Scaramouche. A cold was already starting to build up from standing in the rain yesterday.

After a few minutes, the bus begins moving. You feel a cold sensation on your hand and see that Scaramouche was nudging a small bottle of drugstore medicine into your hand.

"You look like shit," Scaramouche says as he looked back at his book. "Drink this."

You were taken aback but respond with a quick chuckle before taking it out of his hand and opening the cap to drink out if it. "Classy choice of words. Thanks." You nudge his arm with your elbow playfully. He only responds with a scoff and the rest of the ride is spent in comfortable silence.

You went home that day in high spirits, you were slowly getting to know Scaramouche. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, perhaps just a little rough around the edges.

Friday, 7:00 PM

You take the seat beside Scaramouche again, who had his headphones on again. He acknowledges you with a nod snd turns his focus back to the item he seemed to be crocheting.

Getting the cold definitely took a toll on your energy. You went through all your classes today half-asleep. Fighting a virus knocked you out the moment you sat on your seat. Before you could catch yourself, you fall asleep and your head rests on Scaramouche's shoulder. He stiffens at the contact for a while before relaxing. A 'tch' leaves his lips but he proceeds to adjust his position and your head's placement to make sure you don't wake up with a stiff neck.

Now it was his turn to look at you up close. As much as he's reluctant to admit it, he finds it slightly.. subtly .. cute how peaceful you looked when you slept. You often participated in class, something even he doesn't tend to do as student council vice president, and wonders whether you actually rest given the slightly dark eyebags under your eyes. His instincts get the better of him and his fingers reach to swipe the short stray strands of your hair away from your face to get a clearer view of your face prevent them from making your face itch too much. You gently stir from his action but never wake up, to his relief. He'd rather die than have you find out what he just did. A pink hue dusts over his features and he tries to turn his focus back to his book. He only wakes you up as gentle as he did last time when the bus pulls up at your stop. You say a quick thanks before leaving again, this time he peers over his shoulder at the window as you walk away from the bus stop.

From that week forward, the feeling of looking forward to bus rides together was a mutual thing that the both of you felt. Scaramouche felt more inclined to hand you little items that he made from crocheting everytime you sat down beside him. You often walked to the stop from school together and it was filled with conversation (mostly you talking and him listening, but he liked it that way). This became a little treasured routine between the two of you. It doesn't take long for the both of you to start warming up to each other and give fleeting touches that makes the other feel a blooming sensation in your chests. It drives you a bit crazy to think how much can change within a week, and probably from stolen glances in between class lectures.

Each time you fall asleep on the bus, you could rely on Scara to serve as a comfortable shoulder to lean on during rides home &lt;3

© bamdelune may 2023. do not repost, translate, plagiarize any of my works without permission, thank you so much! reblogs, notes, and comments are always appreciated!

[booasaur]

Hi idk if you saw but the The Nevers got moved over to Tubi and they are releasing all episodes like over the span of next week "live" lol whatever that means for tubi but they are playing the episodes that never got released!!

Kind of exciting no? Like I know the show is dead but it would be fun to watch that team one last time

What are your thoughts? Oh I also think all the episodes will be available on Roku in the future too like summer.

And another anon:

Boo, did you see that were finally getting new eps for The Nevers?!?!? New episodes will start on Tuesday feb 14 on Tubi but it sounds like they can only be watched when they’re being “streamed live” and if you don’t catch it the first time around you gotta wait until it’s “aired” again?????

What?? I mean. Wait. Lol, okay, so it's returning, yay. So soon? I'm not prepared! And it's gonna air live on a streamer??? Over a week??

Okay, Monday, THIS Monday, the 13th, it'll just start? Where's the buildup...

All right, so Monday, the 13th, it'll air the first five eps, which all already have aired:

12:39 pm ET The Nevers Ep 101 “Pilot” TV-MA

1:48 pm The Nevers Ep 102 “Exposure” TV-MA

2:53 pm The Nevers Ep 103 “Ignition” TV-MA

3:52 pm The Nevers Ep 104 “Undertaking” TV-MA

4:52 pm The Nevers Ep 105 “Hanged” TV-MA

Then on Tuesday, the 14th, great timing for this show with no promo:

1:28 pm ET The Nevers Ep 106 “True” TV-MA

2:38 pm The Nevers Ep 107 “It’s a Good Day” TV-MA

3:46 pm The Nevers Ep 108 “I Don’t Know Enough About You” TV-MA

4:47 pm The Nevers Ep 109 “Fever” TV-MA

Ep 6 also already having aired so the new eps really start at 2:38pm on Tuesday.

And then on Wednesday, the 15th, rounding off the last eps:

2:40 pm The Nevers Ep 110 “Alright, Okay, You Win” TV-MA

3:45 pm The Nevers Ep 111 “Ain’t We Got Fun” TV-MA

4:50 pm The Nevers Ep 112 “I’ll Be Seeing You” TV-MA

And if you don't catch it during these times, in the middle of the day, you'll have to wait until the next live airing? I mean... I have work. I hope someone rips them.

But no, I am grateful that they're airing at all, considering. Plus, I guess I shouldn't be too negative about Tubi, they're also putting up Genera+ion and Raised by Wolves and other stuff, better to have some home at all than lose the results of all this effort.

Oh, and thanks for letting me know, anons! I guess I gotta get ready for Pen and True!

[afniel]

Man okay we have been In The Process of getting a new bed for a bit now and I finally got rid of the old platform the day before the new one arrives...I picked out a company, no big deal, asked for a quote. They gave me a quote for someone else's furniture. I said nah man I have a platform and frame. So they gave me an estimate. I said okay, it's pretty awkward, on the second floor, definitely a two person job. They said yeah that was fine. How about this afternoon? Or tomorrow? To which I said, now hold on, I still need to empty it out. How about Saturday or Monday? They didn't get back to me until Tuesday to say hey let's do it Wednesday, and by that time I was just like, you know what, sure, whatever gets it out of the house.

Wednesday happened (today) and they were scheduled to show up between 10:30-1. So I got up and finalized all the stuff I needed to do still by 10:30. Drawers empty, sheets off because we're keeping the mattress but it obviously had to be moved, hide the unmentionables in a box, you know. Bribe the Boys to go into their cat room and play with a nice treats ball full of freeze-dried chicken. The usual for having a contractor come out. I kinda needed a shower and a proper breakfast or lunch but I figured, meh, they'll be here too soon, I can do it after.

Which of course wasn't the case! They called at 1:30 to say they'd be there at 3:30 and also am I totally sure that it had to be a two guy job? I said yeah I'm sure, it's not something you can disassemble, it's a pain in the ass. So they go, well, okay, I'll find a second guy. Meanwhile thinking to myself that this guy is at least as organized as I am.

Eventually they showed up at 4:10. Yeah. And it went okay after that, but then he was like, well it was really awkward and hard to move, and told me a final cost higher than the estimate. Which means that I ended up breaking into the holiday money my dad gave me to cover it because we didn't withdraw more cash than the high end estimate plus a tip, because like...why would we, right?

This was also the third day in a row that I only slept four hours and I'm starting to feel it pretty hard...the new bed comes tomorrow but thank fuck it's not until well into the afternoon so I can catch up a bit. At the risk of sounding vaguely my age, my back is killing me...but then again it's been doing that my whole life so it's not saying much I guess.

Also the delivery guys with the furniture company are actually really good and I've dealt with them before so I'm not worried, just...fuck man I am tired and want a day without shit happening this week and that's not looking likely yet.

Also also I'm still waiting to hear back from the builder about the fact that the hot water Isn't quite a bit of the time. It worked fine, then it started dropping temp after a bit, and if it weren't a tankless heater I would probably even have some idea what to do about it but it's a very nice tankless so I'm kinda clueless. And we have some broken screens from window and gutter cleaning because they were installed so ungodly tight in the frames that they literally cannot be removed now, which is less than ideal for a whole lot of reasons.

AND WE STILL NEED TO ORDER BLINDS? I didn't even know where they came from until I realized I could just ask my mom? I'm handy enough with objects but processes, not so much!

Houses are one fucking thing after the other, guys. Like it's great but also, Jesus fucking tapdancing Christ.

[studiohromi]

What I Did Last Week: June 24-30, 2024

Here we are with another edition of “What I Did Last Week,” where I share my day-to-day life as a self-employed person. Every weekday (and some weekends) I keep track of all the work I’ve done each day, as a way to keep me on track as a full-time working artist. Fellow creatives and freelancers, whether or not you choose to share it publicly, I urge you to join me in this weekly professional accountability exercise.

Last week was a weird one, we had a power outage all day Tuesday, then I didn't get much done on Thursday or Friday because I had a cold, so I needed to spend some time over the weekend catching up on a few things. This week will be a bit different as well, as I'll be taking off Thursday and Friday for a camping trip.

Monday June 24

Social media and blog posts.

Worked on edits for a commercial illustration & design client project.

Prepped/brainstormed for an upcoming collaborative opportunity.

Responded to an inquiry from a repeat medical illustration client about updates to a previous project.

AMI Membership Committee stuff

Studied for CMI exam.

Tuesday June 25

Studied for CMI exam.

Assembled vintage heart model kit.

Volunteer stuff.

Prepped/brainstormed for an upcoming collaborative opportunity.

Wednesday June 26

Caught up on emails.

Finalized edits for a commercial illustration & design client project and sent for review.

Redbubble update.

Volunteer stuff.

Studied for CMI exam.

Thursday June 27

Worked on edits for a commercial illustration & design client project and sent for review.

Sent various follow-up/check-in emails.

Friday June 28

Website and social media updates.

Redbubble update.

Prepared and sent an invoice for a completed science design client project.

Evening creative work: created three new mini collages.

Saturday June 29

Volunteer stuff.

Prepared and sent an invoice for a completed science design client project.

Online shop and Redbubble update.

Studied for CMI exam.

Sunday June 30

Sent a custom illustration commission to be printed.

Prepared and sent an invoice for a completed commercial illustration & design client project.

Volunteer stuff.

[ladykailitha]

Posting Schedule and Story Update

I know, I know I don't have a posting schedule, not really. At least in terms of what gets published when, only the days of the week stuff gets posted.

Well for the next four weeks there will be one:

Never Hold Back Your Step...- Sundays

Well Met By Moonlight- Tuesdays

Icarus- Thursdays

Special- Saturdays*

But I'm also getting worryingly low on my backlog (like I'm about dip into single digit range) and I hate having it that low.

So what I usually do is take a week or so off posting and build it back up. And I would normally take the week of my birthday off (Aug 14) to play catch up, but...

Yeah, I'm planning on posting the final chapter of Well Met By Moonlight (werewolf Steve) on the 13th. One year after it's release and since I'm releasing on that day, it doesn't make sense to only post that day and none of the rest of the week.

Also depending on what I am doing on the 14th (as whether or not my husband works) will decide whether or not I'm doing WIP Wednesday that day because if I'm not really doing anything, than I would prefer hanging out with you guys and writing. But I'll keep you posted the closer that gets.

But if he does have it off, I'll take it off and have two days the next week to make up for it. It would also be that week that I would take off posting and probably the next week as well. It depends on how much I get done.

But here's the exciting part, during this time between now and Aug 18th I will continue to work on the exotic club one and will have a ton of fun chapters to share when I get back from my break.

I will still be doing WIP Wednesdays and posting ideas and meta and headcanons and all that fun stuff. And maybe some fun polls too.

Also it is looking like "Never Hold Back Your Step..." (boy w/a bat) will be only 17 chapters long (maybe only 16 depending on how much of the Mind Flayer fight I put in it). I'm hoping it'll be only 16 really so that it can end the same week as Well Met.

I think a lot of people are hoping for their favorite parts of season 3, but this story was never meant to re-write canon. It was just meant to look into the idea that Eddie picked Steve up as a lost sheepie between season 2 and 3. Something that at the time there wasn't a lot of.

We'll see.

But expect to see me start posting again on Sept 1st for sure or on Aug 25th, if I have a really good week. And I'll be kicking it off the exotic dancer one, which I'm really excited for.

*Sir Steve, Knight Protectorate will be finished this Saturday. Leaving the Caged Bird Still Sings (sugar baby!Steve/sugar daddy!Eddie) to take its posting slot on Saturdays.

Tagging my permanent list to make sure everyone who needs to see this can.

1-@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

[lame-boi]

6/14/24

Been on my meds for about 2 1/2 weeks now. I think. I have this week off for vacay but I’m trying to stay busy so I don’t just rot.

Sunday I went to a food festival with my friend but I passed out like 10 minutes inside the gate and probably gave myself a concussion. I didn’t think I hit my head that hard in the moment but the next day I had a terrible headache and the left side of my head was so bruised I couldn’t even lay it down on a pillow. But I had a great time catching up with my bestie. I hadn’t seen her since December and we aren’t really texting people with each other we always just hang out in person. She finally got a new job and is def inspiring me to really start my new job search.

Monday I just rested cause I was dehydrated and concussed from the day before. Gave my mom some greys telling her that I drove myself the hour home after passing out and hitting my head. She then got even more greys finding out my grandpa J had fallen breaking his arm and dislocating his shoulder. She’s up visiting with him now cause she doesn’t trust his daughter to take care of him.

Tuesday I went and visited my grandma and dad back in SM. God I miss SM so much. I knew I loved it when I lived there but I never took full advantage of how amazing it was to be where I was. You can’t heal where you got sick. I needed to get away from my family down there so I’m glad I left but god I can’t wait to be in a position to move back. My grandma is def starting to lose her memory a lot more but the visit was nice and only hit a on a few sour memories. My visit with my father however was disgusting. My step mom had been out of town for two weeks so the place was fucking disgusting. And the fleas were everywhere OMG I’m so glad I brought a change of clothes. I’m still freaking out that I might have brought some fleas home even though I left my dirty clothes in my car and sprayed them and myself down before I came home. Still I’m gonna give my cats a flea treatment and deep clean my place.

Wednesday I had a hematologist appointment that was odd and idk if I’m going to keep going. My blood work wasn’t that concerning anyways it was just my regular doc being too anal about stuff. They drew like 20 vials of blood so I guess I’ll go to get my results when they come in but idk if I really need to be doing all this. After that I had lunch with my friend and caught up with them. We usually hang out longer but they had to go help their grandparents.

Thursday I worked a shift I took at work for T. I shouldn’t be doing her any favors but whatever I offered. Mostly because I thought I was gonna be off next week too and I was gonna need the hours but they put me back on the schedule so I didn’t need it. I had plans to do stuff after work but I was so tired I just slept the whole day. I got up for food at 9pm and went to sleep again around 2am.

And that brings us to today. I haven’t done much but I’m still just trying to relax today. I got a trip to FW planned tomorrow to see my sister so all I ‘HAVE TO’ have to do today is laundry but I want to get some deep cleaning done in my apartment while my lil brother is staying at my moms.

[iantimony]

tuesday yet we persevere

what a week lads

listening up to partizan 18. the exchange of jack: "is inertia when you're stopping or going?" austin, very confidently: "it's when you're going" had me shouting NO at my phone, thank god art chimed in to clarify and actually define inertia. i love you art. been listening to a lot of breaking benjamin while i marathon-focus on trying to finish my poster by. tonight. yeouch.

reading fallow

playing pokego! it's become my fun little morning activity while i lay in bed waking up. like. ok i need to be awake. i will drowsily catch the 3 pokemon that spawn around me and spin the pokestop across the street. ok time to get out of bed i guess.

watching hbomberguy new four hour video reigns supreme. i've had it on periodically while i do chores, cook, etc.

making pottery! basically everything came out of the kiln at once! some finished objects:

the mugs (more like teacups, really, shrinkage strikes again) came out cute, despite the orange one getting a crack in the handle. i really love the way the white bowl came out with the koi, i'd put lillypads inside but they really didn't show up at all so i didn't bother photographing. that little black vase was done with a dark blue glaze that came out. black. so i probably did too many layers, plus it was on red clay, so oops. the little ramekins came out cute, i tried one of the stoneware glazes on the left one and it came out really matte which surprised me, but otherwise some standard lil bowls! and finally i hate the striped object behind the ramekins. i forgot to cover it up after making it and didn't get to trim it before it was bone dry so i just had to let it be was it was so it's really bottom-heavy. and i hate the way the glazed stripes came out. such is life. my roommate likes it so i might give it to her LOL.

dragon mug underglaze came out interesting!!! i used two different brands of underglaze and one of them came out. shiny?? so putting clear normal glaze over that texture proved a real challenge, especially for the handle. i used another underglaze (a chocolate brown, same as the one on the handle on the right) to fill in the background/inside/some linework details, then covered the whole thing in clear, so we'll see how that turns out! the little tree teacup i just covered in clear and put back on the kiln rack, i didn't want to add anything else to it, it came out sooo cute :)

did more underglaze stuff on two bowls, eye motif!!! one as a scratched out and one as painted on. excited to see how they go for the first firing. i had some Big bowls to trim and they were still a little wet but i was like eh i bet i can. i could not. look how i've massacred my boy (bottom left). it totally spun off the wheel but thankfully it's still soft enough that i was able to just sorta nudge it back into a circular shape. i did ragequit trimming for that day because of it though and did the eye underglaze work instead hahahah. hopefully will be able to trim them on wednesday! it's just so dang cold in the area where the pottery is stored to dry out so it takes forever in the winter.

finally, i finished the winter headband for my roommate's mom last night! image is not the finished one, i forgot to take a picture yesterday but i'll just do that after i block it later this week. i took the photo a few days ago because i actually made a mistake in the pattern and was trying to judge how obvious it was and whether or not to go back 10 rows and redo it. i don't think it's that obvious so i decided to keep going. can you spot the mistake :b

misc oughhh aughgghghgh academic poster. my advisor was really difficult to communicate with yesterday but made up for it this morning. her husband stressed me out for no reason but it's fine. i think i can finish it before the poster session tomorrow but odds are in the air as to whether i can get it Printed before the poster session tomorrow. woof. and then i need to figure out what i'm wearing at this conference and pack by friday.

[theninjasanctuary]

So I didn't intend to be quiet for a week again, but it kind of happened. After the shitshow of the week before, I actually had a relatively productive work week, despite starting it with a sore-ish throat and runny nose (tested, not Covid). Monday's meeting, fine, did a chunk of admin after. Tuesday's class, fine, even though I (still) prepped late into the night despite the work I put in over the weekend; and felt fine to do more admin after the class. Cancelled Wednesday's workout due to the cold symptoms, stayed home, caught up on sleep, then did mostly chores and a bit of reading. Thursday, attended a meeting at work, did admin tasks later, then prepped for seminar; Friday, massive seminar, getting groceries + some babysitting. Managed to complete almost everything I had delayed to the point of crippling anxiety, and dealt with other challenges too. Which should by no means to be taken as my to-do-list now being empty, but it's not giving me quite that amount of task paralysis at this point.

Today was spent on catching up on sleep and then entirely on chores. And I ordered a few things from Sellpy (having finally mailed the return items off). Don't think the fees for all the extra tasks have started coming in yet, but the returns mostly covered today's order anyway.

I should not be taking any side jobs as my full-time one is testing my capacity as is, but it would be nice if I managed to only spend extra side job money on frivolous purchases like this. Ideally, half the time, and the other half would go to retirement savings.

And tbh exercise, pampering myself, cuddling the cat, and cleaning make me feel better than more clothes. OTL

Should make a to-buy list of household stuff and budget, like a normal, functioning person.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 9: Sands, Sips, and Scuba

Monday - Annnnnnd We’re off

We packed early in the morning after landing in Sydney. We loaded our stuff into the campervan parked across the street and made the cabin “sea-worthy”. After turning the first block, however, there was a thundering crash... We had underestimated just how violently the car could shake, nothing but good omens here.

Our first stop was the Australian Reptile Park. We booked the encounters tour which allowed us to pet koalas and echidnas, and even hold a juvenile wombat. We also got a backroom tour of some of the world’s deadliest snakes and spiders. They keep them to harvest their venom which gets sent around the world to develop antivenom medicine.  

Tuesday - Sand Boarding

The next day we drove up the coast to Nelson’s Bay. We toured the nearby beach around Port Stevens. We got a fascinating history lesson on how the Australians braced this beach for a Japanese invasion in 1942 and how the beach grows yearly by 4 meters. The large deposits are actually coming from the blue mountains eroding and getting washed out into the sea. And then we sandboarded, more like sled but yeah:

That evening we decided to go backwards and stay at a nearby park to make our 10 am wine tour in Hunter Valley. 

Wednesday - Wine and Turkish Delight

It was 23 fleets of wine and cheese pairings and it floored everyone.

It was delicious but way more alcohol than any of us were expecting. The day of drinking took us out for the next four hours of the day. We made it to Port Macquarie and took a stumbling but refreshing stroll on the beach.

That night we had the best food I’ve had during my time in Australia. We dined at Reyhana, a Turkish restaurant, and ate heaps of homemade pita and hummus as well as lamb shish and buttered rice.

I hastily booked a nearby campsite for the night as all the places I did find were unavailable. It turned out to be an unpowered campsite… Oops. No AC plus tons of bugs meant a humid, irritated night of sleep for everyone. 

Thursday - Byron Baes

The next morning we booked it to Byron Bay for a promising day of adventure.

First up was a guided snorkeling excursion through the EAC(East Australian Current) duuuude (the same one Crush and his son Squirt rode in Finding Nemo).

Some highlights were the eagle ray and leopard shark that were hitching a ride on the EAC to loop the island we were snorkeling around. The boat ride was another highlight, the swell coming in made for perfect hills to accelerate over and catch air, at least that’s how the driver felt. 

That night we ventured into the town of Byron Bay. We had only known the town from the cheesy reality TV show called Byron Baes so we were pleasantly surprised by how similar it was. It’s a town of linens and “inspirers” (rather than influencers). All that aside, we got a beautiful dinner in a bar that looked over the beach and then made our way to the local nightlife. Props to our Uber driver who convinced us to check out our first stop: someone’s backyard turned into a psychedelic bar with a trippy dancefloor.

It was unlike anything I had been to. The DJ was mixing vaguely familiar music over a wash of synths, there were artists actively painting their psychedelic pieces in the corners, and, when they felt it was getting a bit dull, fire-dancing people would inexplicably take over the dance floor and perform. 

Friday - Koala Cuddling to Cairns Crazes

We finally got to hold koalas! The state of New South Wales forbids the practice and so as soon as we crossed the border into Queensland we signed up for the experience. It was a brief encounter and the zoo keeper told us that it was a practice they and the rest of Australia would be phasing out over the next year.

We then parted ways with our roommates who drove up in their sleeper van and would now make the 13-hour drive back down the coast to Sydney. 

We quickly packed up and made our way to the Brisbane airport to catch our flight to Cairns. Our time in Cairns was brief. We got in late and spent most of our time running between loads of laundry at the local laundromat and finishing the procrastinated scuba diving e-learning course. 

Saturday - Live A Board, Dive A Board 

*5:45 am*

I’m up, I’m up. 

We started our day early getting our gear and luggage stowed on the diving boat we’d be living on for the next three days. The boat takes customers out to the offshore parts of the Great Barrier Reef and guides them through certifications and general scuba diving skills. Joe, my Dad and I signed up for the Advanced Scuba Diving and Nitrox courses. Over this day and the next, we took our e-learning skills and applied them out at sea. The technical dives focused on navigation with and without a compass, buoyancy and control, night diving (how to communicate and navigate), a deep dive down to 100 feet, and a fish identification dive. 

*phew*

By the end of the second day, we were officially advanced scuba divers! We dove, ate, and drank with people from all around the world. Almost everyone, regardless of age, had a similar story of feeling that too much of their life had gone by or that they had missed out on traveling earlier and so quit their jobs to see the world. For many of them, it was a decision that took several years of careful planning and saving and none of them regret diving out of their comfort zone and into the wider world. 

Quick side note: I was told by my instructor that he knew I was an aerospace student as soon as he saw me take off from the ocean floor, the plume of sand that followed my vertical, sound barrier-breaking push was "rocket-like".

Between dives, I tried to catch up on the alarming amount of recorded lectures I’ve missed.

And now I write this on the boat ride back to shore with nine new dives and two new certifications under my belt. I’m looking forward to the last few days with my Dad and dreading the reality check from the mounting days of missed school. 

Take care, everyone!

Grant Touchette

Aerospace Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

[all-a-bornk]

So, I was in the middle of writing the other post for the kitties, part 2, but something came up.

There has been this kitty I have been trying to find and catch since December 2022 and news from the lady I had been working with, who actually lives near her, finally popped up again. Wren and I were out shopping for the new house and we barely got to the store when I got a phone call. I almost didn't answer it, but I saw that it was a local area code and it could have been someone from the local social security office calling so I answered. It was someone with the kitty rescue I work with calling to say there was a lady trying to get a hold of me for a Momma cat and some babies but had lost my number. I immediately knew who it was and called her.

Once I got a hold of her she said someone had seen the Mom and she had 4 babies in tow. It was kinda up in the air whether or not she had them as we had never seen them, it was just suspected. So this was the first confirmation that she really had them. We talked for a little about what to do, and we ended up deciding to get more food for her as she didn't have any. So, I grabbed some food and headed over there. I didn't have a carrier with me at the time, and unfortunately didn't go back to my house to get one as 1, I was already halfway there and 2, I thought I was just dropping off food. This turned out to be a mistake.

So after we got the food and headed over to the apartment complex, I saw the woman I had been working with walking around with some kids. I quickly parked and she said these kids had seen them just a minute ago! So we followed them, but then they said they had run off and we couldn't find them. I gave all 3 kids my phone number so they could contact me if they saw them. We ended up talking to a guy that had been feeding them, apparently Mom had actually had the, originally 5, kittens on his patio. He hadn't seen them for 2 days but we got his number and he said he would call if he sees anything. I gave the food we had bought to the woman, which turned out to be a mistake as well, and she went to put it in her apartment. After she came back out she said she had some stuff to do and would see us another day and call her with any news.

Right as I was saying goodbye to the man who had been feeding them, he said he could no longer afford it so he stopped, I got a phone call. It was one of the kids saying they found all of the kitties on someone's porch! So, of course, it was on the other side of the apartment complex but once we got nearby the kids ushered us over. After months I finally got to see Momma cat, and confirm that there were babies as well. We attempted to catch them, but like I said earlier, we didn't have a carrier. We were able to wrangle 2 babies and Momma, but the other two got away. So we put them in the vehicle, went to PetSmart and got a carrier, and came back to catch the rest. We saw them, and had a couple close calls but didn't end up catching them. I got the numbers of the ladies who lived there, an older mother and daughter pair. They apparently had been feeding them as well and the daughter is really attached to them. They had tried to keep Mom when she had no babies with her, but have two cats of their own and it didn't work out. It was getting dark and they are dark colored cats, all of them, so we headed out and promised to come back for the other 2. This was on Tuesday. The last two days we have gone back to try and catch them as well. Wednesday we hadn't seen them, so we decided to not come up unless we got a call. Well, Thursday after work I got a call from one of the kids saying they saw the other 2 kittens! We rushed over there, with a carrier and some canned food this time, and we almost got them. The daughter had been out there for 2 hours before we did and we were there for at least an hour and a half. We planned to come back on Saturday, since we were both off, with Mom and try to catch them then. I left the carrier with them with some food and a blanket that smells like Momma. We weren't going to let Mom out, just try to lure them in with her smell and sound, she is very vocal. We had been playing Marco Polo with the babies on Thursday, they were crying and then we would mew back and they would answer. So that gave us the idea to bring Mom.

Saturday came and we ended up bringing Mom and the babies just in case, Mom in one and the two boys in the other. It only took us about 10-15 minutes to catch them both. One we caught as he was hopping out of the patio with a towel. The other got away to some steps up to another apartment but we blocked him with a sheet and we're able to snatch him up as well. We brought them straight to the vet after that.

There is a lot more that has happened with this than I am capturing in this post, so if you guys are interested in hearing more of what happened just let me know I can write more! I would be happy to!

Kanga

Piglet is the black kitten on the right, Eeyore is the gray with the white pendant on the left.

Roo is the gray on the right, and Winnie is the gray with the white bib on the left

[lululawrence]

How about 24, 14 and 30?

hiiii sorry i didn't answer earlier, i fell asleep before i got it haha but i can answer now before i finally make my fic list for the month... like three days late oops so ANYWAY thank you for sending these in!!

how was your day today?

i'm answering for today instead of yesterday hahaha today was pretty good! more chill than i originally expected because of a last minute change in plans, so it was nice. the toddler was his usual terror self and i didn't get my sunday afternoon nap that is basically a requirement, but that's alright cause overall it wasn't a bad day haha

any cleaning or organizing life hacks?

oof listen this one has had me thinking. all my cleaning and organizing life hacks are more like adhd and autism life hacks lmaoooo so i'm not so sure they would be helpful for like anyone other than ME. ummm i guess my big one is make your planner a happy place for you to be because you'll have more incentive to use it that way lol mine is covered in stickers that are mostly fan art or lyrics or things that make me happy like flowers or quotes that remind me i'm not a failure hahahahah and it's lots of bright colors so when i open it up to the upcoming week and see all five million appointments and things i have to do even though i'm on year four of total burnout at this point, i don't have a panic attack. the bright colors and flowers and our boys rewire my brain to focus on that instead so my emotions are kept a lot more even and i can then still be productive in looking at the schedule which is super helpful for me haha for cleaning, the two biggest things that have helped me is one: it doesn't have to be done perfectly every time, so just do the best you can and at least it's that much better than it was before. and two: break up the big bads in your life so you don't have to do it all at once. for example, i HATE the bathroom. not because i find it super disgusting or whatever, but because it usually takes more effort for me to scrub the tub or the sink and honestly when i was younger i didn't ever know if i was cleaning them correctly or not. i was essentially guessing and was always too embarrassed to ask for help because the few times i did try to do that, i didn't actually get answers that helped me at all. the answers were kind of lackadaisical and general and would probably make sense to a neurotypical, but to my undiagnosed AuDHD brain, i was LOST man. and like, i'm 38 now, i've finally figured that shit out at least for myself, but even though it's a lot easier now and i know what to do, it still has a lot of negative feelings associated so my executive dysfunction basically says, "yeah nope" when it's time to do it and fucks off hahaha SO what i do is i have different tasks in the bathroom on different days. for example, tuesday is toilet day. dunno why, it just works well having toilets on tuesdays. wednesday is sinks, thursday is mirrors, and friday is the tub. saturday is for if i missed any of those days, then i catch up. or it's april and i just don't clean the bathroom. months like that happen, and we still survive. lol which is actually tip three. you'll still survive even if your plans don't work, so pick yourself up and try again. maybe it'll stick this time!

how do you feel about this weekend?

as in the weekend we just had or the weekend coming up? lollllll the weekend we just had? overall it was an alright one. it was longer than i feel like they usually feel for a lot of reasons, and it was weird because there was a lot of stuff that just wasn't really quite at the usual for us, but yeah not bad! haha kinda glad it's over while also not all that excited about the upcoming week, if that makes sense haha but that's also kinda my life right now so oh well lol

that got long i'm so sorry hahaha hope you at least kind of enjoyed the answers? lol thank you for asking!!!

if you want the link to the post these came from, it's here!